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Guinea pig impaction?

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Launey

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My guinea pig possibly has a impaction but he is under a year old and he did poop on me when I tried to get it out but the clump won’t come out and I don’t want to mess with him too long because he gets irritated but I did get some of it out but I don’t know if it is for sure a impaction but whatever it is it smells disgusting but I am pretty sure it’s a impaction so do I need to get him to a vet? Also he is almost a year old it is his birthday on February 2. I can try to get a picture of the impaction or whatever it is, with impactions they can’t poop though that’s why I don’t know if it is that.
 
I would take him to a vet and if it is impaction they can show you how to get it out if it happens again. And to rule out anything else it could be.

That's just my advice until an expert comes along but they are all sleeping in the UK.
 
Hello my older guinea pig( nearly 5) has partial impaction - he still poops but does get a collection of stinky poo
I use cotton buds soaked in warm water and gently use my fingers to squeeze it out and the remove it with the cotton buds
Is your piggy getting plenty of hay / forage etc ?
I’d maybe take your piggy to a vet for advice going forward with managing it or if it’s a one off
There is a section in the guinea pig info at the top of the page under guinea pig illness
Good luck and let us know how you get on 🥰
 
sport_billy

Thread 'Non-emergency vet visits, contagion and illness care support'

Overview of the available information links in this section:
1 How soon to see a vet and how to find one
- Early signs of illness and how quickly do I need to see a vet?
- Recommended vets and out-of-hours information
- Resources when seeing vets not experienced with guinea pigs
2 Vet visits, payment support, insurance and travelling advice (including Covid-19 advice)
3 Care support for ill guinea pigs
- Medicating and support feeding guides
- Non-medication support...
 
I will get him to the vet as soon as I can, also he has a cage mate that doesn’t have this issue luckily and they eat a lot of hay daily but maybe they don’t get enough, I’m not too sure but I will clean him and get him to the vet hopefully within the next few days
 
Roselina said:
Hello my older guinea pig( nearly 5) has partial impaction - he still poops but does get a collection of stinky poo
I use cotton buds soaked in warm water and gently use my fingers to squeeze it out and the remove it with the cotton buds
Is your piggy getting plenty of hay / forage etc ?
I’d maybe take your piggy to a vet for advice going forward with managing it or if it’s a one off
There is a section in the guinea pig info at the top of the page under guinea pig illness
Good luck and let us know how you get on 🥰
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply, my pig gets mostly hay and some pellet food as well, he also has multiple areas for hay since he has a cage mate and he gets fresh vegetables daily and when I can I take them outside (they have a enclosure for outside and I’m out there with them)
 
Ramia said:
I would take him to a vet and if it is impaction they can show you how to get it out if it happens again. And to rule out anything else it could be.

That's just my advice until an expert comes along but they are all sleeping in the UK.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I will be getting him in as soon as I can I just wanted to see if I’m overreacting over something that can be dealt with at home versus I think a trip to the vet would stress him out but I also know impaction can be deadly so him being stressed for a hour or two is worth him being healthy
 
Impaction always requires a vet check particularly in a young piggy. You are not overreacting.

Impaction is caused by anal muscles losing strength so is something that more often happens in older piggies.

In a young piggy with impaction you must have him checked out to find out if the impaction is being caused by a primary health condition, and the impaction is actually secondary.
If left untreated the original health issue can become a serious problem, plus impaction can lead to infection.

Weigh him every morning. If he is losing any weight then you must step in with syringe feeding him a recovery feed as it means he isn’t eating enough hay.

Wiebke

Thread 'Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment'

1 Statement
2 Emergency assessment and accessing vets
- How urgent is my guinea pig's problem?
- Finding an emergency vet
- Seeing a vet not familiar with guinea pigs (including lists of safe and dangerous medications)
3 First Aid care and easily available products
- General 'always have at home' stuff and comfort measures for very ill guinea pigs
- Improvising support feed; recovery formulas...
  • Like
Wiebke

Thread 'All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures'

Introduction
1 Choosing the right place to medicate/feed your piggy
2 Guinea pig whispering and asserting your authority
3 Recovery products and emergency improvisation
4 Syringe recommendations
5 Weight monitoring: your biggest ally
6 Weight loss guidelines and when to step in with feeding
7 Syringe feeding amounts/frequency advice
8 Practical medication and syringing tips
9 Medicating and feeding cooperative guinea pigs (videos)
10 Medicating and feeding uncooperative guinea pigs (hold pictures and tips)
11 The line between life and...
  • Like
  • Love
Wiebke

Thread 'Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support'

1 Weight and Weight Loss
- Why regular weight monitoring matters
- How weight changes over a lifetime
- How to weigh on your kitchen scales (with video)
- The weight loss rules
- How critical is the weight loss for my piggy?
- Possible causes for weight loss
2 Body Mass Index (BMI) or 'Heft'
- Why is understanding your piggy's weight so important?
- 'Average' weight vs. individual weight - the big trip up
- How to check for the BMI...
  • Like
LisaAli

Thread 'Impaction: Practical Care and Diet (with videos)'

1 What is impaction?
- Potential causes
- Why the need for a vet check
- Diet advice
2 Impaction care videos
- How to check for impaction
- How to remove impaction
- Before and after impaction care
3 An impaction carer's practical experiences and tips
- Diagnosing an impaction (description)
- Treating impaction in the short term
- Treating...
  • Like
 
Piggies&buns said:
Impaction always requires a vet check particularly in a young piggy. You are not overreacting.

Impaction is caused by anal muscles losing strength so is something that more often happens in older piggies.

In a young piggy with impaction you must have him checked out to find out if the impaction is being caused by a primary health condition, and the impaction is actually secondary.
If left untreated the original health issue can become a serious problem, plus impaction can lead to infection.

Weigh him every morning. If he is losing any weight then you must step in with syringe feeding him a recovery feed as it means he isn’t eating enough hay.

Wiebke

Thread 'Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment'

1 Statement
2 Emergency assessment and accessing vets
- How urgent is my guinea pig's problem?
- Finding an emergency vet
- Seeing a vet not familiar with guinea pigs (including lists of safe and dangerous medications)
3 First Aid care and easily available products
- General 'always have at home' stuff and comfort measures for very ill guinea pigs
- Improvising support feed; recovery formulas...
  • Like
Wiebke

Thread 'All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures'

Introduction
1 Choosing the right place to medicate/feed your piggy
2 Guinea pig whispering and asserting your authority
3 Recovery products and emergency improvisation
4 Syringe recommendations
5 Weight monitoring: your biggest ally
6 Weight loss guidelines and when to step in with feeding
7 Syringe feeding amounts/frequency advice
8 Practical medication and syringing tips
9 Medicating and feeding cooperative guinea pigs (videos)
10 Medicating and feeding uncooperative guinea pigs (hold pictures and tips)
11 The line between life and...
  • Like
  • Love
Wiebke

Thread 'Weight and Weight Loss Explained: BMI, Weighing, Poos and Feeding Support'

1 Weight and Weight Loss
- Why regular weight monitoring matters
- How weight changes over a lifetime
- How to weigh on your kitchen scales (with video)
- The weight loss rules
- How critical is the weight loss for my piggy?
- Possible causes for weight loss
2 Body Mass Index (BMI) or 'Heft'
- Why is understanding your piggy's weight so important?
- 'Average' weight vs. individual weight - the big trip up
- How to check for the BMI...
  • Like
LisaAli

Thread 'Impaction: Practical Care and Diet (with videos)'

1 What is impaction?
- Potential causes
- Why the need for a vet check
- Diet advice
2 Impaction care videos
- How to check for impaction
- How to remove impaction
- Before and after impaction care
3 An impaction carer's practical experiences and tips
- Diagnosing an impaction (description)
- Treating impaction in the short term
- Treating...
  • Like
Click to expand...

Hi

I agree with @Piggies&buns .

Any impaction or inability to express poos in younger boars needs to be vet checked because it can have another cause (usually either mechanical/physical impediment in the groin area, pain or illness).

I would recommend that you also try to express the penis and check for the presence of a sperm rod in there because the organs are so tightly wrapped around each other down there that one problem can impact on the other two tracts (reproductive, urinary and end of digestive tract.
MerryPip

Thread 'Boar Care: Bits, Bums & Baths'

1 How do boar genitalia look like?
- Babies, boars with descended testicles and neutered boars (pictures)
- Nipples
- Sexing Guide link
2 Bums
- What is normal
- How to keep clean
- Impaction
3 Bits and Pieces (Penis and semen fluid)
- What is normal
- Removing smegma and dirt from the penis
- Penis prongs...
  • Like


For illness monitoring please switch from weighing once weekly to weighing first thing in the morning on your normal cheap kitchen scales for best day to day comparison. Be aware that hay/grass fibre should make over three quarters what a guinea pig eats in a day. The tough but nutritious silica-rich fibre is what the dental growth rate of the grinding back teeth and the whole digestive tract with two runs of poos is laid out for. Unfortunately, you cannot control the intake by eye so your piggy can lose a lot of weight very quickly without you noticing. A more severe tummy upset can also affect the water intake and the consistency of poos.

Wishing you all the best for getting t to the bottom of it. Hopefully, it is something that is easy to sort out!
 
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